Maki-e (lit. sprinkled picture) is the art of painting with urushi (lacquer) and sprinkling gold or silver powders onto it to produce pictorial designs. In Japanese culture it has long been a symbol of Japanese-style beauty.
　This exhibition, jointly organized by MOA Museum of Art, Mitsui Memorial Museum of Art, and the Tokugawa Art Museum, showcases selected masterpieces of maki-e representing each era from the Heian period (794-1192) onwards, together with those of contemporary Living National Treasures. Also on view are illustrated scrolls such as the National Treasure Tale of Genji Picture Scrolls (owned by the Tokugawa Art Museum), folding screens, Buddhist sacred texts, calligraphy, and Nō theater implements. Through the display of 188 items at the three museums, including 25 National Treasures and 51 Important Cultural Properties, this exhibition traces the legacy of beauty created by the Japanese people.
　We hope this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to deepen the understanding not only of maki-e but also lacquerware, as well as other arts, crafts, and Japanese culture in general, and to pass them on to the next generation.